Money OK'd for semi checkup site

I-40 locale could be used all day in all weather

For Potter County commissioners, there are two goals for a building planned for west of Amarillo on Interstate 40 - public safety and more cash for the county.

The building will enclose bays used by law enforcement to weigh and examine tractor-trailers.

But cost estimates have outpaced expectations.

"With the $85,000 budgeted, you'll be $57,000 shy," Director of Facilities Mike Head told commissioners at their Monday meeting.

The building will be built behind the office of Justice of the Peace No. 3 Frank Frausto, east of Arnot Road.

Currently, officers, primarily Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, can weigh trucks to check for overloaded trailers and get a look under them for safety violations such as bad brake lines, but they have to do it in unlit areas in whatever weather conditions are thrown at them.

"The building could be used day or night in any weather," Frausto said.

Last year, his office brought in more than $600,000 in fines and fees, and Frausto estimates that, with the building, it could bring in up to 30 percent more.

"I believe the building could pay for itself in six months," he said.

The Texas Department of Transportation plans to install lighted signs on Interstate 40 that troopers could turn on to divert truck traffic onto the service road on the south side of the interstate. When a sufficient number of big rigs are in line to be examined at the checkpoint building, the sign can go dark.

"It saves time, so they're not chasing down trucks," Frausto said.

Commissioners voted to approve the $142,000 cost of the project, which will include lighting and manual garage doors.

Local builders will handle the job with Talon LPE as the contractor and Caprock Building Systems and Moore Electric as subcontractors.

In other business, commissioners discussed replacing roofing on the former library on the courthouse square downtown. The building maintenance department and the contractor for the courthouse restoration currently use the building, which has a leaking roof and failing heating and air conditioning system, Head said.

One option would be for the county to pay for the work itself and possibly put the commissioners courtroom and offices in the building. Another choice could be to offer the site to Downtown Amarillo Inc. in exchange for that group, a nonprofit promoting downtown revitalization, paying for the work. The group then could use the building as a headquarters.